Fireplaces: types, advantages and construction

What a great pleasure a man drinks warm Indian tea and reads an interesting novel, sitting near a burning fireplace. Or imagine yourself in the winter, when outside the cold, the trees are covered with a thick layer of snow, and you sit in an armchair, drink your favorite whiskey and light a cigar, looking into the burning sparks of a fire flame inside the fireplace. You can endlessly admire the tongues of flame, which soothe the soul, contribute to finding peace, achieving a state of relaxation. Undoubtedly, such a corner is extremely necessary for anyone who has worked hard all day and at the end of the day prefers to relax by the “live” light.

Fireplaces - Description

A fireplace literally from Latin translates as a hearth. Nowadays, the presence of a fireplace in the house indicates the financial well-being of the owners. However, not everyone uses a fireplace to heat a house, although modern technology allows the use of such structures that can heat the entire house. much cheaper and more profitable. An ordinary small fireplace during the winter cold, of course, will not help you completely cope with the heating of the house, but in autumn and spring it will serve you in glory. Depending on the type of fireplace and its size, a certain area of ​​the room and house is heated. For example, if you have a mini-fireplace with a size of 1020 x 510 mm, then you will be able to heat a room of 16-20 square meters. meters.

Fireplaces - the benefits of using

Despite the fact that fireplaces are not considered to be the optimal method of heating a house in our time, they still remain a subject of luxury and aesthetics, a wonderful thing that creates a warm atmosphere in a hotel room. It will look great decorative fireplace and in the office, waiting rooms and in the rooms of a large mansion, as an auxiliary way of heating. You can’t compare the feeling of joy and comfort in the soul that is transmitted to a person from such admiration for fire in his own hearth. At the fire, thoughts are put in order, new ideas appear, emotions subside, and negative feelings cease to torment the soul.

Fireplaces - types

Fireplaces are classified according to the following four main characteristics:

1. Fireplaces stand out by the location in the room - wall mounted, wall, island and corner.
2. In appearance, the fuel openings of fireplaces are open and closed. The appearance of the fuel hole directly affects the efficiency (Coefficient of Efficiency). Fireplaces with an open firebox, as a rule, have a low efficiency, which does not exceed 15%, but they give undoubtedly great aesthetic pleasure. The fact is that control the combustion process and the power of fire in an open fireplace is a rather difficult task, which requires a lot of time and effort, as well as high fuel consumption. The room where the fireplace is installed, in this case, overheats sharply, and when the flame goes out, the heat decreases sharply. In addition, open fireplaces are dangerous in that even a small spark, for example on carpetmay cause a big fire. From this point of view, a closed fireplace is the most safe and economical. By choosing a special model, you can heat the entire house or apartment.At the same time, the technology allows you to control the temperature and intensity of the flame by yourself, saving firewood. The efficiency of such a fireplace exceeds 70%.
3. According to the method of heat radiation, fireplaces come with single-sided radiation, two-sided and three-sided. The first type is the simplest and most common. The fireplace with one-sided radiation is used to heat a room of 90 sq.m. Double-sided fireplace It is notable for its complexity, however, such a fireplace has many drawbacks, the most important of which is the impossibility of optimal heating of large rooms and the requirement for a larger volume of air. The third type of fireplace with three-sided radiation radiates heat, respectively, in three directions, however, only one direction has real efficiency and benefits.
4. The last classification of fireplaces is carried out depending on the type of fuel used. This is how wood fireplaces stand out, the most common, gas, electric and bio fireplaces, which appeared on the modern market quite recently.

Fireplaces - Electric

Electric fireplace It has a lot of advantages over a wood and gas fireplace. The first advantage is its low price, in comparison with the two previous types. The second advantage, as indicated above, is that such the fireplace does not require special care. For installation, it is enough to install the fireplace in your chosen place and connect it to the power supply: it will start its work, giving you great aesthetic pleasure with its bright flame. Electric fireplace fits perfectly into any interior. Certain models of such a fireplace can be equipped with several heating modes - from weak to strongest. Electric Fireplaces can work without any type of fuel. However, there are models that are distinguished by their multifunctionality and work simultaneously with firewood or coal. Such models are also offered that do not require firewood - the fireplace itself can do it for you after you “order” it with a remote control.

An electric fireplace with a power of up to 2 kW heats a room with an area of ​​up to 20 square meters. m. Like the two previous types of fireplaces, electric fireplaces, from the point of view of the type of installation, can be mounted on the wall, be wall or corner. In apartment conditions, electric fireplaces are especially popular due to their compactness, accessibility and ease of installation and connection.

How can a fireplace be heated?

The fireplace, depending on its type, can be heated either with wood, or gas, or electricity. Fireplaces of a classical form are heated with firewood. Wood fireplaces the most popular and most preferred all over the world. Such fireplaces convey the taste of antiquity, remind of the distant past, and specially decorated fireplaces give the room an aristocratic appearance. Firewood can be purchased at special stores and shopping centers, at a logging plant. You can also go to the forest yourself, cut down trees and chop wood. True, the latter option is the most difficult and dangerous, in addition, there is a high probability that, due to illegal tree felling, you will be “decently” fined or a criminal case will be opened. Therefore, it is better to buy firewood.

Meanwhile, you still need to take into account the disadvantages of a wood fireplace when choosing. For example, the disadvantage is that the sparks of fire obtained from the combustion of firewood can get on any quick-burning material, and even the slightest draft can cause a fire. Such a danger arises from open fireplaces. It can be noted that at the same time, it is not very pleasant to constantly clean the wood fireplace from ashes and burning.

Gas fireplace It seems to be the best option, because with the gas transmission in our time, especially in Russia, no difficulties should arise.The gas fireplace works silently, does not require constant monitoring of the fire, heats the room evenly. Installing a gas fireplace is not very difficult. From a financial point of view, this is the most profitable option. Moreover, gas heating is the most economical way, emitting more energy and better heating the room.

Electric fireplace appeared on the market since the mid-20th century and became famous for its cost savings and ease of operation. Heating with an electric fireplace is carried out evenly and without sharp jumps in temperature. This fireplace works directly from the mains. The owners do not have to fiddle with the electric fireplace for a long time, there is no need to fight with burning or smoke, because they simply do not exist, and, of course, there is no point in installing chimney. More details about electric fireplaces were discussed just above.

Bio fireplace or eco fireplace - This is a unique invention, thanks to which a real fire burns without smoke, ash and ash. A feature of a biofireplace is its work on environmentally friendly biofuels, in particular liquid. Due to its lightweight construction, the biofireplace can be installed anywhere, without any special additional work, it does not need a chimney, it does not generate ash and waste. Small bio fireplaces can be set anywhere.

Fireplaces - where to install?

Fireplaces can be used everywhere - from a country house, ending with an apartment, office or places for entertainment (bar, cafe, restaurant, club, etc.). As mentioned above, the place and method of installing a fireplace depends on the decoration, style and type of product. For example, it is customary to install small bio-fireplaces directly in the middle of the room, next to the resting place, closer to an armchair or sofa. There are also small table fireplaces, which not only serve as the original decor item, but are also used in the art of trataka for meditation on fire. Such a mini-fireplace is indispensable for practicing yoga, meditation or Buddhism.

Naturally, a large fireplace is not advisable to install in the middle of the room, as it takes up a lot of space, narrows the space and just looks ugly. However, choosing a location is necessary depending on your own preferences.

What is the difference between a stove and a fireplace?

In fact, a fireplace is the same stove, but with a more simplified design. In addition to appearance, the fireplace and stove differ from each other in the way of heat transfer. A modern stove has a high degree of heat transfer due to its massive masonry, which can not be said about the fireplace. However, despite this circumstance, fireplaces are more popular, because these days they are the subject of home aesthetics, coziness and comfort, and only last but not least serve as a simple heater.

Fireplaces - a type of building materials

For laying a fireplace you need special refractory bricks, mountain sand, cement, clay, crushed stone and special rubber - roofing material. For fireplace trim You can use any material to your taste, such as ceramic tiles, glazed bricks or just stones. As for the materials for the chimney, here you need to be especially careful and approach the issue more responsibly, since the good quality of the chimney should guarantee the long and reliable operation of your fireplace. It is very important that the material from which the chimney is made is as resistant to corrosion as possible. Steel chimneys are popular today, heat-resistant steel is not subject to corrosion, and installing a steel chimney is not very difficult in already built houses. It is enough to make a hole on the ceiling and on the roof of the house. Glass and ceramic chimneys are also popular, but their price is much higher than steel. From this point of view, the best option is steel chimney.

Do-it-yourself fireplace construction - steps

If you want to have a fireplace at home or in an apartment, you can contact specialists in this matter and patiently wait for its installation. DIY patience will require more patience and strength. An easier way to get a fireplace is to buy a finished product. You will just need to install it in a designated area with a chimney. It would be much simpler to simply buy and install an electric fireplace that does not require a chimney or a bio fireplace, which is the most environmentally friendly and useful. However, if you still decide to work yourself on the construction of a brick fireplace, then you are very lucky with the fact that today there is everything on the market for anything to do with your own hands. Currently, there is a large assortment of decorative materials you need to decorate the exterior of the fireplace.

1. So, you need to start building a fireplace with the most important and main task - you need to choose the place and type of the desired fireplace. It should be noted that the most difficult thing is to build fireplace built into the wall and, as a rule, such a fireplace is being built at the very stage when the house itself is being built. Therefore, in this case, we will describe how to build a frontal (wall) fireplace.
2. It is necessary to choose a place for a fireplace protected from drafts, far from doors and windows. The first thing to do is to lay a solid foundation, which would serve as the basis for the long functioning of the fireplace. The size of the foundation must match the size of the fireplace. The foundation is made of crushed stone or gravel and mixed with cement and sand. Pre-floor is covered with roofing material for waterproofing. The mixture you prepared for the foundation is evenly laid on top and left for some time to dry.
3. Having completed the construction of the fireplace, it is necessary to leave it for about one month, so that he has time to properly dry and strengthen, and only then begin operation. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to build classic fireplaces in apartments. In most cases, build and use such a fireplace in apartments not allowed. Although in Moscow you can use the classic fireplace only on the last floors of the house, where there will be no problems with installing chimneys. That is why, if you want to have a fireplace, but you do not live on the top floor of the house, it is best to purchase and install electric or biofireplaces. There will not be much hassle during the installation process. It is especially important to emphasize the need to follow safety rules. Do not let children get close to open flames! Do not leave the fire unattended! Regularly clean the chimney, if equipped!